Newcomer Lupita Nyong’o was unknown to American audiences before her scene-stealing role as slave Patsey in Best Picture Oscar winner “12 Years A Slave.” Now, after winning the Best Supporting Actress Oscar (the first African actress to do so) and giving an incredibly moving speech, Nyong’o is on her way to becoming a household name. But did you know that before being cast in “12 Years A Slave,” Nyong’o played the lead role on a ground-breaking Kenyan soap opera?
According to Deadline.com, Jordan is currently in talks to join the cast of Marvel’s “Fantastic Four” as Johnny Storm AKA The Human Torch. Also in talks for the principal characters are Kate Mara (“House of Cards”), Jamie Bell (“Billy Elliot”), and Jordan’s “That Awkward Moment” co-star Miles Teller.
James Franco’s name was brought back into soap opera news last week when reports surfaced that “General Hospital” headwriter Ron Carlivati wished to bring Franco back to the soap. However, it looks like the A-list actor already has quite a few projects on his plate. One of those projects is the film “Maladies,” featuring Franco as a former soap opera actor who has trouble dealing with his mental illness as well as the mental illnesses of his two housemates.
In perhaps his biggest directorial effort yet, James Franco adapts “Child of God,” a film based on a Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name. A teaser trailer for the film was released last August, but today we get a first full-length look at the film.
Hot on the heels of her starring role in “Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas,” “The Haves and the Have Nots” and “One Life to Live” actress Tika Sumpter along with actors Kevin Hart and Ice Cube is set to take the weekend box office with their new film “Ride Along.”
According to TVLine, Luke Grimes is exiting HBO’s “True Blood” after reported creative differences with show producers over the future of his character, James. “He initially joined the show because he wanted to work with [his ‘Forever’ co-star] Deborah Ann Woll,” said an insider to the website. “But when he started reading the scripts for Season 7, he was disappointed to learn that they were going in a completely different direction with James.” Grimes joined the cast of the series in season 6, which found James mostly sexing it up with Woll’s Jessica.
Former “All My Children” star Cady McClain (ex-Dixie Cooney) announced recently that her short film, “Flip Fantasia,” has been accepted into the 9th Annual Macon Film Festival, which will be held from February 27 – March 2, 2014 and will take place at the Cox Capitol Theatre, The Douglass Theatre and The 567 Center for Renewal in downtown Macon, GA. Describing the film she wrote, produced and directed on her website, McClain says, “I made this as a labor of love right out of my heart.” She adds, “It’s a love song to NYC, to my wild youth, to crazy people I have known that changed my life, to being raw, to innocence, to friendship, to true hearts, to broken hearts, and to the pain of having to deal with the hardest parts of life when you are very, very young… as I did.”
Now playing in a theater near you, “Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas” follows Perry’s titular character, Mabel “Madea” Simmons, as she accompanies her niece, Eileen (Anna Maria Horsford), to pay a surprise visit to Eileen’s daughter, Lacey, who has mysteriously informed her she’s not coming home for the holidays. In reality, Lacey followed Connor (Eric Lively), the man she loves and secretly married, from the big city to a small Alabama town as he fights to save his family farm from bankruptcy.
Lionsgate announced today that it has acquired the feature film rights to “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth,” the New York Times bestselling biographical tale that questions the details about the man we know as Jesus of Nazareth. Authored by Dr. Reza Aslan, “Zealot” was released to bookstores and online publishing retailers earlier this year.
“It started as a friendship, but one night became an obsession” is the message behind “Nurse 3D,” a new thriller that finds Paz de la Huerta (“Boardwalk Empire”) as Abby Russell, a nurse by day at All Saints Memorial Hospital; by night, Abby hits up the hottest night clubs looking to lure unfaithful men into dangerous dalliances. A new arrival at the hospital, Danni Rogers (played by Katrina Bowden; “30 Rock,” “One Life to Live”) finds herself receiving unwelcoming attention from Abby, who at first appears to want friendship, but when Danni doesn’t seem interested in the type friendship offered, Abby becomes obsessed and begins to turn Danni’s world into a living hell. Corbin Bleu (ex-Jeffrey King, “OLTL”) also stars in the film as Danni’s boyfriend, Steve. The cast is rounded out by Judd Nelson as Dr. Robert Morris, Boris Kodjoe as Detective Rogan, Adam Herschman as Jared, Niecy Nash as Regina, and Martin Donovan as Larry Cook.
